Wrestling had definitely come to his mind, just not arm wrestling.
Jude pulled her determined face against his shoulder so she couldn’t see the smile on his lips. Despite the all-out challenge, now wasn’t the time to make her feel as if he took her lightly. He ran a soothing hand down her back and up again, ending at the base of her skull.
“So I take it no knight in shining armor has thrown you over his shoulder to have his way with you yet?” Jude used his best teasing tone.
“No. Damn it.” She blew out a big sigh that made him want to laugh. There was a definite camaraderie between them right now, almost like two guys sitting together after a football game discussing how the quarterback fumbled.
Still, her revelation had to be handled gently. Cassidy Dancer was all woman beneath that rough-and-tumble tomboy exterior, and he wouldn’t trample that little girl quality she had going for her. If anything, what she’d just told Jude made him more aware of his own shortfalls.
“What on earth is my favorite warrior princess doing with a nerdy guy like me?”
“What nerdy guy?”
He raised a brow at that silly question, but by then she had both hands on him, her fingers pushed into his hair while she studied his face. The light in her eyes was back. She removed his glasses and set them on the side table. “Remember the cellar?”
He let her take the lead. “How could I forget?”
“Well, when I told you I wanted to feel your face...” She paused as her fingers and palms moved gently over his facial features again. Gentle fingertips traced his brows. He closed his eyes and let her map the line of his nose and smooth over his cheekbones. Her touch was light and firm at the same time, but how she could ignite so much need in another part of his body by touching his face took his breath. His body coiled with need.
She’d done the same thing in the cellar that first night. She’d started a fire that had only grown stronger, and the beauty of it was that she didn’t know.
“I never saw a nerd,” Cassidy whispered, her voice full of awe. “I saw a man who rescued me when no one else could. I saw a father who ran into hell to save his daughter.” She leaned in to his lips, her next words a blessing he didn’t see coming. “I just saw you. My hero.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
The fire roared back to life. Jude wanted this woman. They needed to move from the couch. Skimming his hands down her back, he cupped the back of her thighs and leaned forward, his hands under her bottom. Without breaking their connection, he was off the couch and striding toward destiny.
She didn’t stop him when he nudged the bedroom door shut with his foot, still very much in possession of the beautiful lady in his arms.
She didn’t stop him when he sat on the edge of his bed and stripped off his shirt.
She didn’t stop him when his hands maneuvered her body to straddle his, but she paused when he leaned back against the mattress and took her with him. Her clenched hands on his chest felt more like stop signs than a come-on. “But...”
By then, he couldn’t stop. Didn’t want to. She needed to understand he wasn’t going to hurt her, but he had to have her. His blood boiled. It didn’t just run hot—it ran molten. Sizzling. Got-to-have-her-now hot.
This fear of hers was momentary. If she truly loved him, her apprehension would cease the moment he had her clothes off, and they coupled. He knew it. His body screamed he was right. When he was done, he’d hold her and comfort her, and she’d truly understand how deeply a man could love a woman.
He pulled her face down to meet his lips and kissed her fiercely. Rolling her he pinned her. “I’m not going to wait until it’s too late to show you how much I love you.”
“Yes, but...”
So much concern flashed across her face that he faltered. Jude jolted back to his senses. He’d seen that scared look before. What the hell am I doing?
His overwhelming needs deflated. His selfishness cut and ran. His ego evaporated. Jude remembered who he really was—not some mighty, all-knowing prophet. Not some rutting pig, like Greg or Hank or the Brothers Grimm. He, the man who proclaimed he loved Cassidy more than himself, was going about this all damned wrong.
Taking a deep breath, he swallowed hard, and gathered his wild desires into a manageable tension. He stilled. Lucien was no more. And he, Jude Cannon, wasn’t living at the edge of insanity. He had time to live again. To make soft, sweet love.
He rolled off Cassidy, and settled at her side. Repentance hit him hard. Damn. I’m such an ass. “I’m sorry. I almost forgot who I was,” he admitted calmly. “You tell me, sweetheart. If you’re not ready—”
“It’s just that... I’ve never done this before,” she whispered guiltily, like she’d just confessed to shoplifting or something criminal. “I ski. Powder. You name it, I can ski it. Corbet’s Couloir in Jackson Hole. Delirium Dive in Canada. Hell, Jude. I’ve been down Christmas Chute in Alaska, but...” She bit her bottom lip, trapping it, blinking like she’d rather be anywhere else but in his bedroom.
“What are you afraid of?” he asked.
“I don’t do guys,” she said very adamantly. “I mean, umm, I don’t do girls, either. I mean... Oh, hell, I don’t know what I mean.” She rolled her eyes, digging herself in deep, and so damned adorable while she did it. “Most guys don’t get me, and I don’t know. This thing between us feels bigger than all of those wickedly steep ski runs put together.”
He blew out a deep breath. Those words made him smile as much as he wanted to cry. She didn’t need to tell him anything more. He was moving way too fast, and she was right. This wasn’t her playing field, and it was a damned important first step they were taking. He needed to back his boat up and let out some line.
“I love you, Cassidy. It’s difficult to wait, but I will. For you, I’ll do anything.”
She didn’t respond in kind, just nestled under his chin, and that was okay. She’d just lost an important man in her life. She needed to want to take this next step as much as Jude did.
He took a deep breath. Cassidy was worth waiting for.
Cassidy couldn’t sleep. Not now. Not with Jude under the sheets with her, his leg alongside hers. He’d taken his pants off and come back to bed in his jockey shorts, but his skin wasn’t like hers. Firm, yes. Muscled, yes. But different.
She couldn’t keep her fingers to herself. Didn’t want to. They kept touching him. Feeling. Gathering information she very much wanted to know.
Jude should’ve gone into high fashion instead of high finance. He was heart-stoppingly beautiful. Damned near glorious. All the manual labor he’d done while searching for Judith in the cult had created one ripped masterpiece. His belly lay relaxed, yet solid. Soft but firm. A smatter of chest hairs dusted his pecs, but those pecs. Well-toned and nicely defined. Irresistibly touchable. She let her fingertips do the walking along the sharp valley cut between them. Damned nice.
She wished she’d taken her clothes off, too. He lay still, his chin tilted upward, his neck exposed and one arm thrown over his eyes. Her fingers thrilled at the well-manicured beard he maintained instead of simply scruff. She indulged, her fingertips strolling over his private property, and she a welcomed trespasser.
A gentle hint of a smile tweaked Jude’s lips. And that was another thing. The man had lips she couldn’t get enough of. How could two moist pieces of human flesh taste so, so good? The crazy guy had her sounding like Judith.
And his eyelashes. Every time those amazingly deep grays scanned over her, she felt like a piece of dragon fruit on the vine, ready for picking, peeling, and tasting. The idea of being a piece of fruit with Jude doing the peeling and tasting made her wiggle.
Blinking only made him a hundred times sexier. Somehow, those dark lashes turned into the paddles safety officers used to guide Navy Hornet and Super Hornet fighter jets onto aircraft carriers. Each blink seemed to whisper, Come closer. Closer. You’re doing fine. You’re right on target. Al… most… there…
All Cassidy
knew was that she was coming in for a landing, and she was coming in hard. She had another challenge to conquer. Him. And she couldn’t resist. Not anymore. Not as willing as Jude had become. He wasn’t kidding anyone. A man couldn’t feign sexual disinterest beneath a single white sheet. She had his complete attention.
She dropped out of altitude. Jumped out of bed. Stripped out of her clothes and touched down. On Jude.
He turned his body into hers, his eyes bright with lust and his hand extended. “Come to me, Cassidy.”
“I love you, Jude Cannon,” she whispered on her way to his lips. I am so coming to you. She took him hard, her fingers in his hair and her tongue in his mouth.
A groan lifted up from his chest as his hands smoothed down her biceps to her ribs to her bare ass. “My God, you’re beautiful. Let me see. Let me touch.”
There wasn’t time to show him, not with the fire he’d ignited. She wanted him deep inside of her body before she exploded. The hunger that began with a wiggle turned into a voracious appetite that Cassidy honestly didn’t know how to control. She lifted, needing to impale herself on Jude, arching her back to settle onto him.
“Oh, no,” he muttered, clutching the cheeks of her ass before she could sink farther down. “Not for your first time. I won’t hurt you. Not like this.” He rolled her off his thighs and onto her back. “Let’s play with that fire a little first, shall we?”
She nodded. Yes to play. Yes to fire. “But I thought—”
“You thought right, but you’re not ready for rough sex, and this first time is all about you.” Dark gray eyes scrolled over her naked body. “It may hurt. Let’s take it slow. Let’s make love, not just have sex. When you’re ready, we’ll play as rough as you want, but for now...”
She trembled, her knees knocking with excitement and maybe a little fear.
He knelt between her legs, his palms on her quaking knees, holding her still. Warm gray eyes melted over her bare body. He licked his lips, and she wanted those lips on her. All of her.
“Jude?” she asked, her voice all breathy and girly-sounding, damn it. “Is this always about play for you?”
He kissed her kneecap—or rather, he lit another fire, one that travelled at lightning speed to her core, unleashing a wellspring of moisture. And heat. He blessed the other kneecap with more soft, moist nibbling kisses. She groaned as the same jolt of lust ripped through her, straight up the middle of her tightly strung body. If he kept playing, it wouldn’t take long. She’d detonate in his hands.
“Play is how I want to make love with you, Cassidy. Like we have all the time in the world to get to know each other.”
She reached for his neck, needing more than the sheet to hold onto. “But I’m not a piece of china. I won’t break.”
He took his time, kissing a trail down her thigh to her belly. He lingered at her navel, licking a pool of thrilling sensation, filling her flesh with a ferocious need. “You’re right, but you are the heart and soul of my world. You are my reason for living. I intend to worship you every day for the rest of my life. This is no one-night stand, Cassidy. This is forever. Are you in it with me?”
“Yes,” she whispered, in awe of this man’s concept of love.
Bowing his head, he cupped her breast and scraped a thumbnail over its tender peak. Another spark lit. His lips closed over the hardened nipple, a bundle of nerves alive with anticipation. He sucked it into his mouth, and another quivering bolt of lust shot straight to her core. She bucked against him, so damned needy.
Dipping low, he bumped his nose to hers, his palms at each side of her head. He closed the distance and took her slowly, slipping the steel of his love into her heart as he slipped the steel of his loins into her core. Gently. Coaxing her clenched muscles to accept him.
It hurt. It pinched. But Cassidy was no stranger to the pain in contact sports, and now she was no stranger to the melding pain of making love. With her body alight with the sweet agony of his gentle lovemaking, she pushed into him and gave him everything. Every. Last. Inch.
The climax struck like the thrill of a zip-line to the stars. She soared, detonating into a brilliant white light at Jude’s skilled fingers. He swallowed her cry while he held her shuddering body, and holy hell. She’d never known so many intense sensations at the same time. This was no game. No contest. She, Cassidy Dancer, was—truly, purely loved.
Jude sunk his face into the crook of her neck, a rumbling growl caressing her ear while she fell apart. “You’re my warrior princess. Only mine.”
Too emotional to speak, her tears spilled over. She’d found where she belonged. Right there. Tucked safe and sound—in his heart.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“Are you okay?”
“I’m good,” he said quickly, but Cassidy knew better. Something was wrong. The closer they got to SEA-TAC, the less talkative Jude became. He’d driven her to her apartment so she could pack and make boarding accommodations for Magic. But now that her cat had been dropped off at Jungle Play for kittens, and they were at the airport, he seemed reluctant to leave. Nervous. Or something.
It was late evening. They’d checked in at the airline ticket kiosk, dropped their bags, and made it through security without any problems. Still, he fidgeted. He’d excused himself twice to use the restroom. The poor guy’s forehead shone softly with a thin layer of sweat. He paced.
The flight assistant at the check-in desk called their flight. He raked his fingers through his hair, then fumbled and fidgeted when he couldn’t locate his boarding pass. First class boarded before he dug it out of his back pocket. It didn’t dawn on her until their carry-ons were stowed and he kept double-checking his seatbelt. Jude was afraid to fly.
She really looked at this guy sitting next to her on the aisle seat. Everything he’d done during the past month had been out of his comfort zone. He’d endured torture at the hands of the cult, gone undercover for the FBI, and successfully ended a damned tough mission with his daughter safe and Cain six-feet under. Then, he’d flown across the country to rescue her from herself, not to mention all the flights he’d taken with the Brothers Grimm. But through it all, he’d been scared to fly?
That explained Judith, too. She was her father in miniature—frightened maybe, but courageous in the face of all sorts of bullies.
Cassidy placed her palm on Jude’s warm wrist. “I’d like a Bloody Mary. How about you?”
He grunted, anxiety bright in his dark eyes. “I was thinking more like a keg, but no. It’s too early.”
She shrugged, willing to let him lead but needing to ease his discomfort. “It’s a long flight with no layovers. A drink relaxes me. Besides, it’s five o’clock somewhere.”
“It’s way past five in Florida.” Again with the quick rake through his hair.
“Long flights like this are boring.”
He rolled his eyes. “Boring, huh? Guess I haven’t flown as much as you then.”
“So tell me about working with the FBI. What was it like?”
He rolled his eyes again, and that was all it took. He had a lot to tell between the Brothers Grimm, his FBI guardian angel who’d ended up being one-of-one instead of one-of-many, and, of course, the Cain brothers and their devious plan for the ricin.
“Aloysius really looks like Lucien?” she asked. By then they were over Kansas, and Jude’s anxiety had diminished without the Bloody Mary’s. His fingers rested comfortably around hers, and she couldn’t remember a more delightful flight. He hadn’t gotten out of his aisle seat once.
“Lucien was a little taller, but Aloysius seemed to be the smarter of the two.” He corrected himself. “Maybe smarter isn’t the best word. Mr. A seemed darker. Kind of like the Emperor in Star Wars compared to Darth Vader. They were both evil, just different.”
“It’s hard to imagine anyone more evil than Lucien Cain.”
“Trust me. His brother’s worse.”
“Did the FBI ever find him?”
Jude shook his head. “Not yet. They�
�ve got the ricin, though. He kept a supply in two separate locations, one on the East Coast, one on the West. That was how he delivered it as quickly as he did.”
“No doubt Alex is still looking for him.” She changed the subject. “Will Judith be angry with me for leaving the way I did?”
“Only if I don’t bring you back home with me.” His spiked brow set her at ease. “It’s too late, Agent Dancer. Don’t even think about leaving me now. You’re in over your head, woman.”
She couldn’t suppress a smile. “I wouldn’t dare.”
A smart woman didn’t leave a guy like Jude. They’d spent most of their first day together in bed, the hotel shower, or out on Jude’s semi-private balcony, wrapped up in each other’s arms and falling more in love. Who knew a tough gal could only be loved by a tougher guy? A man who saw through her bravado and wasn’t afraid to call her on it? Someone who conquered his fears just to be with her?
Like he was doing now. The jet touched down at Jacksonville airport, as smooth as glass. Jude didn’t seem to notice. They were still talking when the Jetway bumped into the side hatch.
“You think you’re pretty clever, don’t you?” he asked, while he unfastened his seatbelt. “Was that the plan? Keep me talking all the way home?”
“It worked, didn’t it? We’re here, and I think you might have enjoyed the flight, too.”
He shrugged. “Actually, I did.”
Before she knew it, they were rolling their suitcases into Jude’s front entry where Judith barreled into Cassidy’s arms. “I’m so, so glad to see you!”
Miss Fluffy wound herself around Cassidy's legs. Two dragon fruits were peeled and waiting on the kitchen counter for her. This place felt a lot like home.
“Guess what?” Judith stepped back from Cassidy’s embrace, jumping up and down like a little girl. The dark circles under Judith’s eyes were gone, and she looked genuinely happy. “I have a surprise for you. Come see.”
Cassidy Page 31